China crisis is a TikToking time bomb

 

As country after country bans TikTok from official systems, it’s fair to ask what’s so dodgy about a social network filled with dance crazes, makeup advice and cats.

You can understand why selling the Middle Kingdom state-of-the-art EUV lithography gear might be a bad idea, but this? Is it the xenophobia China often blames for Western reticence? Plain old trade barriers? Cold war cultural imperialism? No, it really is a security matter, and one that’s far more serious than it looks.

State security and national intelligence can look like, and often is, a proxy for political machinations. This is not that. It’s not a matter of morality or the ethical superiority of democracy. The West can bug, spy, infiltrate and deceive with the best of them. The CIA secretly owned Crypto AG, a Swiss cryptography company, and most certainly snaffled a ton of data from unsuspecting organisations as a result.

There’s no equivalence here between the East and West, no two sides of the same coin. The difference is the extensive legal framework protecting Western citizens and companies from state security overreach. Imperfect and constantly stretched as it is, the law is on our side. The NSA or GCHQ cannot compel cooperation - they can ask, but even so within limits. Apple and Google can and do tell the FBI to get a warrant or go swivel. Xiaomi and Vivo don't have that option.

Chinese law, specifically Article 7 of the National Intelligence Law compels all citizens and organisations to act as covert arms of state security on demand, even if overseas. There is no saying no. There is no even admitting it’s happened. Chinese owned technology companies can deny this as much as they like, in fact they have to, but the law is clear. The TikTok CEO can offer all the safeguards, promises and firewalls he likes; he is required by law to secretly bypass all those on command.

This is before the obscure and impenetrable intermingling of state, military and private funding and governance for Chinese companies. The People’s Liberation Army is a major source of funding for enterprise: if you think private equity funding comes with strings in the West, wait until it comes with nuclear missiles and aircraft carriers. Then there’s the disconcerting disappearances of top executives who displease Beijing. All Chinese technology is under the direct control of Chinese state security, and all Chinese technology companies are kept in line by whatever means necessary. Read more...

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